Describing evidence for the theory of continental drift.
Learning Performances
Learning performances illustrate how students should use the scientific content and practices in tasks and reflect the reasoning tasks we want students to be able to do with scientific knowledge.
During this lesson, the students will not only learn about continental drift, but will learn that theories are not "fixed" and they pass through stages of refinement due to new evidence. In turn, theories grow stronger as they evolve to include new information. They will learn that science asks HOW? and it deals with gathering knowledge and organizing it. SO WHAT ARE THE REASONING TASKS THAT STUDENTS WILL DO?
Links to Standards or Benchmarks
You should link to a page unpacking the standard or benchmark lesson is meant to address.
3a Evaluating slow processes(e.g. weathering, erosion, mountain building, sea floor spreading) to determine how the Earth has changed and will continue to change over time.
Materials Needed
Students need a their notebook and a pencil.
Teacher needs overhead projecter, world map, pictures of green sea turtle, fossils, matching rock formations, and a map of coal and glacial deposits.
Newspaper for activity
WHY NOT START WITH PENGUINS? STUDENTS ARE PROBABLY AWARE OF THE PENGUIN JOURNEY INLAND TO LAY EGGS FROM THE MOVIE. AFTER LISTENING TO WHAT THEY REMEMBER FROM THE MOVIE, YOU CAN PROJECT AN IMAGE OF THE TURTLE AND SAY WE'RE MOVING FROM PENGUINS TO THE STRANGER BEHAVIOR OF THE SEA TURTLES....
Visual of green sea turtle. Describe it's bizarre behavior. Where it lives and where it lays it's eggs. (It lives off the coast of Brazil and travels to Ascension Island, about 1,450 miles away, to lay it's eggs. That's almost 3,000 miles round trip!) Ask why do you think it behaves this way?
SO NOW YOU HAVE A COMPELLING QUESTION: WHAT EXPLAINS WHY THE TURTLE MAKES SUCH A JOURNEY?
Show a picture of continents in present positions. What do you notice about them? (Hopefully that they resemble puzzle pieces in that they look like they "fit" together.)
Wegener's theory, from unfavorable to acceptable within the scientific community.
Facts supporting theory of continental drift: fossils, matching rock formations, red sandstone, coal and glacial deposits
Pangaea picture (Earth, 250 million years ago)
Instructional Activities
YOU NEED TO DESCRIBE EACH ACTIVITY WITH MORE DETAIL. WHAT WILL YOU SAY TO EXPLAIN WHAT AND WHY STUDENTS ARE DOING WHAT YOU ASK? WHAT QUESTIONS WILL YOU ASK ALONG THE WAY?
Putting the Pieces Together
Work in groups of three or four.
Tear one sheet of newspaper into a few large pieces.
Trade pieces with a friend.
Try to fit the pieces back together. Do the lines of print help you with reassembling the paper? How does this relate to the theory of continental drift?
Concluding the Lesson
How will you reinforce purpose of the lesson and unit?
Class Discussion:
ARE YOU SURE THAT THIS BELONGS IN THE CONCLUSION? YOUR CONCLUSION SHOULD BE A FINAL REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT.
So, what do you think about the green sea turtle now?
What could account for its behavior with regard to it traveling so far to lay it's eggs? Pieces of the Puzzle.docPieces of the Puzzle.doc relate lesson to issues in society and to student lives?
What do you think our planet will look like in the distant future? HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN PREDICT THIS?
How will you bring the lesson together. What the main idea of the lesson? How is each activity related to what students were to learn?
In the coming weeks, we will discover even more support/evidence for the theory of continental drift.
Assessing Student Understanding
How will you determine if students met the learning performances?
Writing Activity: Done in pairs. Write a humorous, but accurate skit in which Alfred Wegener and one of his opponents appear on a daytime talk show.
WHEN DO STUDENTS DO THIS ACTIVITY?
The students can be assessed through the writing assignment itself or they could be assessed acting out the skit in class. (Doing this would require more than one class period.)
Doing this activity gives the teacher an opportunity to determine if the students met the learning performances with the accuracy of "facts presented" in the skit. It also gives the students an opportunity to show how collecting evidence and organizing it helps a theory grow stronger. It also allows them to be creative, and to have fun while learning. Next, when they learn about plate tectonics, they will see how this also helps support the theory of continental drift.
Cautions
Are there any dangerous or hazardous components of the activities associated with the lesson? What precautions need to be taken?
Sources
Where did you get the idea for this lesson. List references used to develop lesson plan (e.g. curriculum materials, Internet resources). Use APA format.
Dynamic Earth, Prentice Hall Science, 1994,1993
Contributing Writers: Linda Densman, Linds Grant, Heather Hirschfeld, Marcia Mungenast, and Michael Ross
Teaching Resources
Include links to Powerpoint files, Word files, and/or pdfs for all instructional materials for this lesson, including handouts, worksheets, etc.
2 - All parts of LP are done, but rationale is missing.
1 - There are parts of the LP that are either missing or incomplete.
2. Instructional Activities include:
(1) • Teacher-led opportunities for experiencing and representing the content
(0) • Questions and prompts that promote students thinking about concepts of the lesson
(0) • Clear links that establish the purpose of the lesson
3. Assessment
3 - There is an assessment strategy and a key for each activity.
2. There are assessment strategies and keys for some of the activities.
1. There are suggestions for assessment strategies but no keys.
0 - There are no assessment strategies included.
4. Rationale
1 - A rationale for the lesson's activities was included.
0 - No rationale for the lesson's activities was included.
EDC 430 - Demo Lesson Evaluation
Name:
Score: 3 / 10
Lesson Text:
Title: Plate Tectonics
Grade Level: 7
Course: Geology
Lesson Overview
Describing evidence for the theory of continental drift.Learning Performances
Learning performances illustrate how students should use the scientific content and practices in tasks and reflect the reasoning tasks we want students to be able to do with scientific knowledge.During this lesson, the students will not only learn about continental drift, but will learn that theories are not "fixed" and they pass through stages of refinement due to new evidence. In turn, theories grow stronger as they evolve to include new information. They will learn that science asks HOW? and it deals with gathering knowledge and organizing it. SO WHAT ARE THE REASONING TASKS THAT STUDENTS WILL DO?
Links to Standards or Benchmarks
You should link to a page unpacking the standard or benchmark lesson is meant to address.3a Evaluating slow processes(e.g. weathering, erosion, mountain building, sea floor spreading) to determine how the Earth has changed and will continue to change over time.
Materials Needed
Students need a their notebook and a pencil.Teacher needs overhead projecter, world map, pictures of green sea turtle, fossils, matching rock formations, and a map of coal and glacial deposits.
Newspaper for activity
Time Required
15 minutes lecture15 minutes activity
10 minute discussion about activity
5 - 10 minutes worksheet
Instructional Sequence
Introducing the lesson
WHY NOT START WITH PENGUINS? STUDENTS ARE PROBABLY AWARE OF THE PENGUIN JOURNEY INLAND TO LAY EGGS FROM THE MOVIE. AFTER LISTENING TO WHAT THEY REMEMBER FROM THE MOVIE, YOU CAN PROJECT AN IMAGE OF THE TURTLE AND SAY WE'RE MOVING FROM PENGUINS TO THE STRANGER BEHAVIOR OF THE SEA TURTLES....
Visual of green sea turtle. Describe it's bizarre behavior. Where it lives and where it lays it's eggs. (It lives off the coast of Brazil and travels to Ascension Island, about 1,450 miles away, to lay it's eggs. That's almost 3,000 miles round trip!) Ask why do you think it behaves this way?
WHY NOT PRESENT EVIDENCE OF JOURNEY. THERE IS DATA PLOTTED FOR ONE TURTLE HERE: http://www.turtles.org/adelita.htm
SO NOW YOU HAVE A COMPELLING QUESTION: WHAT EXPLAINS WHY THE TURTLE MAKES SUCH A JOURNEY?
Show a picture of continents in present positions. What do you notice about them? (Hopefully that they resemble puzzle pieces in that they look like they "fit" together.)
Wegener's theory, from unfavorable to acceptable within the scientific community.
Facts supporting theory of continental drift: fossils, matching rock formations, red sandstone, coal and glacial deposits
Pangaea picture (Earth, 250 million years ago)
Instructional Activities
YOU NEED TO DESCRIBE EACH ACTIVITY WITH MORE DETAIL. WHAT WILL YOU SAY TO EXPLAIN WHAT AND WHY STUDENTS ARE DOING WHAT YOU ASK? WHAT QUESTIONS WILL YOU ASK ALONG THE WAY?
Putting the Pieces Together
Work in groups of three or four.
Tear one sheet of newspaper into a few large pieces.
Trade pieces with a friend.
Try to fit the pieces back together. Do the lines of print help you with reassembling the paper? How does this relate to the theory of continental drift?
Concluding the Lesson
How will you reinforce purpose of the lesson and unit?Class Discussion:
ARE YOU SURE THAT THIS BELONGS IN THE CONCLUSION? YOUR CONCLUSION SHOULD BE A FINAL REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT.
So, what do you think about the green sea turtle now?
What could account for its behavior with regard to it traveling so far to lay it's eggs?
Pieces of the Puzzle.docPieces of the Puzzle.doc
relate lesson to issues in society and to student lives?
What do you think our planet will look like in the distant future? HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN PREDICT THIS?
How will you bring the lesson together. What the main idea of the lesson? How is each activity related to what students were to learn?
In the coming weeks, we will discover even more support/evidence for the theory of continental drift.
Assessing Student Understanding
How will you determine if students met the learning performances?Writing Activity: Done in pairs. Write a humorous, but accurate skit in which Alfred Wegener and one of his opponents appear on a daytime talk show.
WHEN DO STUDENTS DO THIS ACTIVITY?
The students can be assessed through the writing assignment itself or they could be assessed acting out the skit in class. (Doing this would require more than one class period.)
Doing this activity gives the teacher an opportunity to determine if the students met the learning performances with the accuracy of "facts presented" in the skit. It also gives the students an opportunity to show how collecting evidence and organizing it helps a theory grow stronger. It also allows them to be creative, and to have fun while learning. Next, when they learn about plate tectonics, they will see how this also helps support the theory of continental drift.
Cautions
Are there any dangerous or hazardous components of the activities associated with the lesson? What precautions need to be taken?Sources
Where did you get the idea for this lesson. List references used to develop lesson plan (e.g. curriculum materials, Internet resources). Use APA format.Dynamic Earth, Prentice Hall Science, 1994,1993
Contributing Writers: Linda Densman, Linds Grant, Heather Hirschfeld, Marcia Mungenast, and Michael Ross
Teaching Resources
Include links to Powerpoint files, Word files, and/or pdfs for all instructional materials for this lesson, including handouts, worksheets, etc.http://www.wonderclub.com/Atlas/ascnsion.htm
http://www.naturehaven.com/Ocean/seaturtle2.gif
http://www.summitpost.org/images/small/243507.jpg
1. Completeness
1 - There are parts of the LP that are either missing or incomplete.
2. Instructional Activities include:
(1) • Teacher-led opportunities for experiencing and representing the content(0) • Questions and prompts that promote students thinking about concepts of the lesson
(0) • Clear links that establish the purpose of the lesson
3. Assessment
1. There are suggestions for assessment strategies but no keys.
4. Rationale
0 - No rationale for the lesson's activities was included.
5. Comments: